The Lone Sparrow
by GuardianSoulBlade
Summary: She hadn’t seen him for four years. It was as if his family had vanished, and yet, here he was, standing in front of her; but the boy Ichigo had called him Uryū. What was she to do? What was she to say? Was he Uryū Ishda or Ken Ichijouji?
1. Exhibition

**The Lone Sparrow**

_**Summary: **__She hadn't seen him for four years. It was as if his family had vanished, and yet, here he was, standing in front of her; but the boy Ichigo had called him Uryū. What was she to do? What was she to say? She took him aside privately, "What's this all about Ken Ichijouji?"_

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Digimon or Bleach; the rights of the shows belong to their perspective owners. I was inspired by the fact that Derek Stephen Prince is the voice actor for both Ken Ichijouji and Uryū Ishida, and the fact that both characters are eerily similar in how they dress and act. If I get my Bleach facts wrong, please let me know, I want to make this a good fic that honors the essence of both shows. _

**Exhibition**

He was gone. Up and left Tamachi. He told them that his parents had gotten new jobs and that they had to leave. Yolei looked at her long-time friend.

"Ken, do you really have to go?" Yolei asked.

"Yes, I do, but don't worry, I'll keep in touch," he promised.

"You better keep in touch man," Davis warned, "or I'll hunt you down myself."

Inwardly, Ken was amused. There was no way Davis would actually remember to do that. He was far too scatterbrained for it.

"Oh, don't worry, I will," Ken laughed.

"Did your parents say what kinds of jobs they got?" Kari asked.

"Dad got a new job as an accountant, mom found a job as a secretary."

"Well, we're going to miss you," Yolei Inue told him. "Can we talk in private? I want to give you something."

Ken Ichijouji nodded. They both moved away from the others, who were talking about how Ken moving away so suddenly surprised them.

"I found this in a jewelry store. The owner said he had found it a long time ago, and that there was something special about it. He said he couldn't just sell it to anyone, although lots of people had asked that he sell it to them. When I told him I was looking for a present for a dear friend he said that he felt he should sell it to me. It's not much, but, here."

She handed it to him. He tried to keep his eyes from going wide. A Quincy's Cross! But how? How had she managed to find it? Was it just pure coincidence or was something else at work here?

"it's beautiful," he managed to stammer out. "I don't know what to say!" the truth was, he was he was astonished that she had found it in the first place.

Ken looked at her intently; he began reaching out with his spiritual senses. There was something there. What was it? He reached out, using his instincts as a Quincy to sense the spiritual pressure of others.

Was what he sense coming from her spiritual pressure, or was he just imagining things. He focused, not with his eyes, but with his mind. He could see the white ribbons of the spirit energies of the people around him.

Then he saw it, red ribbons among white, Soul Reapers, the ones whose senses were attuned to the supernatural and paranormal. He dare not even _think _their names in his mind, lest he bring them into a world that was far more dangerous than anything they had ever faced in the Digital World.

It was becoming far too dangerous for his friends to associate with him. The Hollows were coming more often, he couldn't fight them all off, he had enough to deal with when Digimon showed up. He had been making excuses to get away from them. He didn't want them involved; he could handle the Hollows by himself. He'd been training for years, but he still couldn't be in two places at once.

Ever since the death of his grandfather, Sōken Ishida had been killed by Hollows he had dedicated himself to training, but when he wasn't training he was spending time with his older brother Sam, until the fateful day that he had "wished he would just disappear" in a fit of jealousy. It wasn't long after that that his brother had died after being hit by a car.

Sam hadn't taken any interest in being a Quincy. He was too busy with school to care about killing Hollows. He hadn't wanted to be labeled a "freak" for having to explain away mysterious injuries. Sam had taken his father's approach, saying that it was useless being a Quincy when there were more than enough Soul Reapers to do the job.

After Sam's untimely passing, Ken abandoned his Quincy duties to brood over the death of his older sibling. His trips to the Digital World gave him a challenge that was even more fulfilling than killing Hollows, at least he had a talent for it. The Digital World was his escape from the grief, his Quincy heritage was just another reminder of Sam, and what his brother had refused to do. Not wanting to associate himself with anything that reminded him of Sam, he had unleashed his rage on innocent Digimon.

Even after joining the Digidestined, he remembered his heritage and had continued to train in secret. He had become more skilled with his Quincy powers, utilizing his energy bow the _Lone Sparrow_ to kill Hollows whenever he could. His father had made the decision that they needed to move, disapproving of Ken's choice to fight Hollows, saying that he didn't have the talent for it. Ken had ignored him and continued to fight when he could.

Now he was moving, he supposed it was for the best, at least he wouldn't endanger his friends and he had been looking for a more challenging test of his academic skills anyway.

Though he had been born Uryū Ishida, the family had legally changed their names so that they would be hidden from Soul Reapers, any who might have studied their ancestry might have been able to track them down, so they had changed their names, assuming the surname of Ichijouji to throw off any would-be pursuers.

Now he had a feeling they would change their names back to their birth names to throw off the Digidestined. He gave Yolei Inue a smile, knowing that this was probably the last time he would smile at her as Ken Ichijouji.

"I want you to have it, as something to remember me by," Yolei said, leaning forward, she placed a sincere kiss on his lips. Ken felt his face turning red, but ignored his embarrassment. He shared that moment with her, searing it into his mind. He pulled away and forced a smile.

"Like I could forget any of you," he laughed.

"Hey Ken, we're going to have a big goodbye party for you next week okay?" Takeru "T.K." Takaishi called out from across the room.

"Thanks," Ken smiled. It was nice that his friends wanted to see him off. He wasn't sure when he'd see them again.

A week later they gathered at T.K.'s apartment, enjoying snacks and finger foods as they talked and laughed, recalling the old days and their adventures in the Digital World.

Ken however, kept trying to squelch the uneasy feeling in his stomach, and it had nothing to do with the food he'd been eating. There was something out there, and he knew it wasn't anything good. He sat in a chair, staring out a window, pretending to listen to a story Cody Hida was telling, instead, he was trying to pin down the source of his anxiety.

_Was that a Hollow? _He thought. _I swear I can feel it._ Ken reached out with his spiritual senses, and knew immediately, that the presence he felt was a Hollow. He heard the rumbling coming from outside T.K.'s apartment. He had to get out of there, he had to find the Hollow and kill it, all without arousing his friend's suspicions. He had kept his Quincy powers a secret, the only one who knew about his powers was Wormmon and his parents.

He moved over to where his Digimon was perched on the top of the couch. "Cover for me, I have "work" to do. Keep them distracted, until I get back."

"Listen," he told the others, "I'm going to go the store real quick to get some more pop. I'll be back later."

Stepping outside. Ken gave a quick glance around the apartment complex. He then ran down the hallway and exited the building. He sprinted down the street and spotted the Hollow.

"I have you now,' he growled. "It's over for you, filthy Hollow!"

He broke into a run; his speed pushed his human limits, utilizing his instinctive Quincy powers to move quickly toward the giant Hollow that was chasing down the spirit of a dead girl.

"It's time for you to die, Hollow scum!" he snarled. "I may be the Digidestined Child of Kindness, but I don't have to show you any such sentiment!"

He stretched out his hand and made the gesture of an archer bending his bow back to unleash his arrows. The_ Lone Sparrow_ appeared in his hand, easily conjured using his spirit energy and Quincy training.

He pulled his arm back and unleashed a single arrow, not even hesitating to see if his first shot hit its mark, he fired again. The Hollow screamed in pain but still tried to take a swipe at Ken.

Ken Ichijouji jumped over the giant fist and began running; easily avoiding all the blows aimed his way. Soccer did pay off after all. He concentrated, keeping focused, he conjured two energy arrows. This would take out the Hollow for sure.

"Good riddance!" he said with finality. He let the arrows fly.

One arrow found its mark and embedded itself in the Hollow's head. The other hit it straight in the mouth. Since Hollows had no hearts, the only way to take them out was to shoot them at point blank range in the head or neck. He managed to do both.

He watched the Hollow fall to the ground and dissolve in its second death. He walked away, remembering he had said he was going to the convenience store to get more pop for the party. He quickly purchased the drink and ran back to T.K.'s house.

"Hey, was I gone long?" he asked, upon his return.

"Well yeah, you were gone for almost an hour. What took you so long?" Davis asked.

"Getting to that store and back nearly killed me. The line took forever too."

"At least you brought back the soda," T.K. laughed.

"Yes, thank you, Ken," Kari smiled.

They spent the rest of the evening laughing and talking.

That was the last time he had seen any of the Digidestined. He had moved to Karakura Town where he attended Karakura High without incident. Then he'd met Ichigo Kurosaki, and the rest was history, as they say.

"Uryū, are you okay, since when did you get distracted?" a familiar voice asked.

 Uryū Ishida turned his attention to the orange haired boy in front of him. While Ichigo Kurosaki reminded him of Davis Motomiya, Ichigo was nowhere near annoying as Davis could be at times, and for that Uryū was very thankful. At least Ichigo could figure out what was going on, most of the time, Davis was clueless.

"It's nothing, Ichigo, I was just thinking," Uryū shooed his friend off with a gesture of his hand. Ichigo gave him a look that said he wasn't buying it.

Ichigo looked up to see a young girl walk into their classroom. She was 16 years old and had pink hair which she covered with a blue bandanna on her head. She also sported a pair of spectacles that Uryū knew anywhere. "This is our new student, her name is Yolei Inue. She's Orihime Inoue's cousin."

_You've _got_ to be kidding me! _Uryū's mind screamed;_ they're cousins?!_ He understood why he was so fond of Orihime; it was because she was related to Yolei. Of course, he had no idea that they were related, being that the surname Inue was a very common. It hardly seemed possible that they were related, until now.

Orihime stood to her feet and ran over to Yolei. "Yolei! When did you move to Karakura Town?"

"Just last week, I can't believe I get to go to school with you." Uryū was doing his best to keep his composure, to act like he didn't know who she was. But he wondered if she would recognize him.

"Please, Yolei, you must meet my best friends, this is Ichigo Kurosaki," she gestured to Ichigo, who smiled at her, he couldn't help but be attracted to her, she was very pretty and was drawn to her in a way he couldn't explain.

Yolei shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you Ichigo."

"This is Sado Yasutora, but we call him "Chad". And this is my good friend Uryū Ishida."

Yolei reached out and took his hand, giving it a firm shake. 

"It's nice to meet you _Uryū Ishida,_" she told him, looking at him. Despite the fact that he changed a lot since when she had known him, he still knew that she recognized him. it was his eyes that gave him away.

_It's really Ken. After all these years, I finally found him._ There was a reason he was calling himself Uryū, and she wanted to know why. But for now, she decided to play along. She decided to let "Uryū" know she knew who he was by crushing his hand in her handshake. To her surprise, he didn't let it show that she was causing him pain. She released his hand and looked at him.

"Welcome to Karakura High," he gave her the smile he had often given her as Ken Ichijouji.

"Thank you," she replied. He watched her go to her seat. He stared off into space. Things had become complicated. Very, very complicated indeed.

* * *

_While you're sleeping _

_You know I have escaped _

_While you're sleeping _

_You know I've been erased _


	2. Fearless

**Fearless**

The sight of Yolei Inue brought back a thousand memories to Uryū's mind. All their adventures in the Digital World spilled back into his consciousness as he watched her talk to Orihime. Had it really been four years since he'd seen her?

Time had gone by so fast, or did it seem to crawl by at an agonizing pace? He wasn't sure anymore. Uryū shrugged, it depended on the month and the day. Sometimes, time moved forward in a cohesive blur where events were a muddled, distorted mess. But other times, time decided to torture him by lollygagging around like a lazy bum on a street corner, and if time itself wanted to be exceptionally frustrating, it would creep at a pace so slow it seemed that there would be no end to that hour or day.

Certain days went more slowly than others, such as…unpleasant anniversaries. Unfortunately, Uryū had plenty of those days to remember, so much more than others. He had not lost one or two, not three but _four_ family members.

First there was his grandfather and sensei, Sōken Ishida, who had been killed by Hollows when Uryū had come to visit him one day. He had been hiding behind a tree, too afraid to fight, hoping and praying that the Soul Reapers who regularly kept his grandfather under surveillance would arrive to defeat the Hollows. Instead he had watched in horors as Hollows defeated Sōken and as the Soul Reapers arrived too late to save him. Only later did he learn that Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the 12th Division of Soul Reapers had bribed the two Soul Reapers watching Sōken to let him die so he could harvest his soul for his research.

Then his older brother, the brilliant genius of the family, Sam Ishida, had died after being struck by a car as he was coming home from school. It was the same day that Uryū had wished out of jealousy that he would "just disappear", for years he blamed himself for Sam's death, only with the help of the other Digidestined did he learn to accept that there were some things in life he just couldn't control. But just when his life seemed to be on track his mother had died of a heart attack after he moved away from his friends, which shocked the family since she had appeared to be in perfect health.

Then there was Wormmon, loyal, faithful Wormmon. His Digimon partner and best friend for his short life. The death of Wormmon had been a crushing blow to him; it had altered his personality completely. He still retained his kindness, as it was an innate part of who he was. However, he became more and more cynical as the years went by. He was also angry and bitter, because Wormmon did not die at the hands of a Digimon.

Uryū visibly sighed and wiped his forehead, trying put thoughts of his deceased friend out of his mind. Just thinking about Wormmon made him sad, though he would never show it in front of other people, they wouldn't understand. The Digidestined knew that Wormmon had been killed; they had all sensed his grief and Wormmon's agony as he died. He had never explained the circumstances of Wormmon's death but he had said that the Digimon had been murdered.

Normally, when Digimon "died" they were reconfigured and reborn. But Wormmon would never be reconfigured and reborn until…

Uryu narrowed his eyes and gave an angry grunt that was barely audible to others. He knew what he had to do; he did it every year on the anniversary of Wormmon's death. He scoured the town, searching and searching, but to no avail. His target eluded him.

…Wormmon would never be reconfigured until Uryū caught and killed the Hollow that had murdered and devoured Wormmon right before his eyes as his friend fiercely fought to protect him.

"_Don't worry Uryū, he might have killed me, but I'll come back to you, no matter what. I promise."_

That was physically impossible; the Hollow had eaten Wormmon alive. He could still hear the Digimon's agonized screams. By the time he had gotten to his feet, the Hollow was gone, claiming sadistically that the he was too full to eat Uryū. Later he theorized that if he killed the Hollow that had eaten Wormmon he might be able to release the Digimon's data back into the real world. But he had never been able to test that theory, for obvious reasons.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to his schoolwork. He had to get his mind off the past and stay in the present. There wasn't any use for mulling over events that had happened so long ago. Wormmon had been dead for two years and there was no changing that.

After the school day was over, Uryū found himself loitering around in the halls, waiting for the inevitable confrontation between himself and Yolei Inue.

He saw her walking down the hall, textbooks in hand. She gave him a knowing glance and he nodded.

"We need to talk somewhere. Privately. Others…won't understand."

"I know that. There's a park a short distance from here. We'll walk there."

They began walking down the hallway. Orihime saw them and noticed as she saw her cousin take Uryū's hand in her own. Her eyes went wide but she didn't even get the chance to say anything as they passed by her.

Something was going on. Something Uryū wasn't telling them. Two complete strangers didn't hold hands after they'd just met. Only close friends did that. She had to wonder, when did Yolei meet Uryū?

Orihime decided to follow them, but kept her distance; she stayed close enough to hear some of their conversation.

"How are you doing in school…Uryū?" Yolei asked. Orihime noted that her cousin acted like she wasn't used to saying his name, as if she had called him by another name when she had known him. She wasn't too far from the truth either.

"I'm doing fine," he replied, his voice didn't have the serious edge it usually did when he spoke to people he didn't know. He acted like they'd known each other for years.

"I'm not surprised. I saw your scores on the tests. Still on top of your game. You were always a genius, even when you were Ken Ichijouji."

"My life as Ken Ichijouji doesn't matter now. It's all in the past. So why do you keep bringing it up?" he asked, exasperated.

Orihime frowned. Who was Ken Ichijouji? The name sounded familiar. Yolei was clearly implying that Uryū had at one time been this Ken Ichijouji. But if that was true, then why had Uryū lived under a fake name? Then the realization hit her. Yolei didn't know about Uryū's Quincy powers. Perhaps that was why he had changed his name, so that the Soul Reapers wouldn't be able to track him.

"It's not like I _know_ you anymore, Ken, and I _will_ call you Ken because it's what I've called you for years, and you're just going to have to live with that."

"It's Uryū Ishida now," he said. "Ken Ichijouji doesn't exist anymore."

"If I told Matt your last name he might think you're a relative," she joked. Matt Ishida was one of the older Digidestined, and although not very close with Ken they all had been very good friends, the younger and older Digidestined. She noticed he didn't laugh at the joke about his last name. She had never seen him laugh at all even though they had only been reunited for a short time.

She looked at him. "Wormmon's death changed you. You're not the same boy I once knew. What happened to you?" She gave him a hard glance. "Please…I want to understand."

"You wouldn't understand, Yolei. We can't continue talking about this. Not here. Let's go." They headed out the door. Orihime was about to follow them when she heard Ichigo call out to her.

"Orihime! Where are you going?" he asked. Chad and Rukia were with him.

"I'm following Uryū and Yolei to the park," she replied.

"Well it seems they became friends pretty fast," Ichigo observed. "That's not normal for Uryū, he's usually a loner. It was awhile before we became friends and here he strikes up an instant friendship with your cousin."

"For some reason, I think they know each other. Does the name "Ken Ichijouji" mean anything to you?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I've never heard of that guy. Why do you ask?"

"Yolei…she kept calling him "Ken Ichijouji". I think Uryū changed his name to keep the Soul Reapers from finding him."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Uryū told me that when the Hollows killed his grandfather that the man was under constant surveillance by Soul Reapers. It's not like they couldn't find Uryū."

"Maybe," Rukia noted. "But if the family legally changed their names it might be harder to track, even though the Soul Society doesn't care much about those things, but if they did go by another name it would make searching for them difficult but why they stopped watching the Ishida's is a mystery. Maybe the Soul Society thought that Quincies were not a threat anymore."

"Hurry, Uryū said that he and Yolei were going to the park." Orihime gestured to the door. The others followed her outside and they headed to a park near the school. It was the same park where Uryū and Ichcigo had participated in a contest to see who could destroy the most Hollows.

The small group tried to keep Uryū and Yolei within earshot without alerting them to their presence, which seemed completely ridiculous due to the fact that Ichigo's spiritual pressure was so high, Rukia had no doubt that Uryū knew they were there.

"You said there was a reason your family had to change their names. What was it? Are you guys in danger or something?"

"It's very complicated Yolei," he sighed. "Tell me something Yolei. Have you ever sensed things, things you couldn't see and had the feeling that something was following you, even when there wasn't anyone there?"

"Well…I'm not sure, but…I have seen these…monsters. They're not like Digimon at all. They keep saying things about eating souls. You must think I'm crazy."

"When did you start seeing them?" She had just confirmed what he had suspected. Even four years ago, he had sensed her high spirit energy, just as he had sensed it in all the Digidestined he had spent time with, it was much more noticeable in his close friends than with the others he had met. Perhaps that was why they could see the Digimon before any of the adults could. The Digidestined had always been special children.

"You've been awfully quiet Poromon; don't you have anything to say?" Uryū addressed the Digimon for the first time. The others wondered what he could possibly be talking to when they saw a small round creature pop out of the back of Yolei's backpack.

"What is _that_?" Ichigo managed to ask in a whisper. It was all he could do to keep from shouting out his question.

"I'm surprised you knew he was in there," Yolei laughed.

"I know you, you wouldn't go anywhere without your Digimon, would you?" Uryū sighed. "That still hasn't changed. None of us ever went anywhere without them."

"Hello Ken," Poromon squeaked out. "It's been a long time. I like your new look." The Digimon was referring to Uryū's spectacles, which he had not worn while he was with the Digidestined.

"Why thank you," he smiled slightly. "But it's not Ken anymore, it's Uryū." Ichigo was a little surprised. Uryū wasn't one to smile much.

"Please, accept my condolences about Wormmon. He was a good friend too. We used to spend so much time together…" Poromon sighed.

"Yeah, raiding my refrigerator," Yolei laughed.

"Those were good times," Poromon chimed in.

"How long has it been since he was died?" Yolei asked.

"Two years," Uryū replied.

"You told me once that something killed him," Yolei said. "What did you mean by that?"

"Those creatures, the ones that you can see; the ones who talk about eating souls, they're called Hollows, and one of them…killed Wormmon. Right in front of me."

"Uryū, I'm sorry," Yolei said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Please Uryū, you must tell me something, how long have you known about these things?" she asked, adding, "And tell me the truth."

"I've known about Hollows all my life," he replied. "Even during elementary school in Tamachi."

"But what are Hollows? Are they like Digimon?" Yolei asked.

"No, they aren't like Digimon; they are the spirits of the departed souls who remain attached to the world of the living. They become angry and start to attack the living. They're monsters that only people with high spirit energy can see."

"And you fight these…Hollows," Yolei looked thoughtful. "So that's why you began making weird excuses to slip away while you were with us."

"Yes. You don't seem surprised by all this."

"Why should I be? We're Digidestined, we were always special. Why should the existence of a spirit world surprise me?"

"I'll tell you something very few people know about me. I'm no ordinary human. I am a Quincy. We were a tribe of people who could see spirits and Hollows. We could control spirit energy and used it to battle Hollows."

She looked at him. "What happened to the Quincies? You said they were a tribe, but there aren't any now?"

"They were wiped out by Soul Reapers, a group of spirit beings who helped departed souls cross over to the Soul Society, the afterlife. They believed that we upset the balance of spirits going to and from this world, because we destroyed Hollows instead of cleansing them, like they did. But that was a long time ago. I am the last Quincy. There aren't any left."

"It sounds horrible that another group would want to wipe your people out just because they have a different way of doing things."

"It doesn't matter, that was a long time ago." He sighed. "I must say, I'm surprised you're here. What brought you to Karakura Town?"

My parents decided to move here to open another store. After the first one closed because of lack of customers they figured a new location would be better."

"I see. That's nice Yolei. You all can come out now. I know you're all there. Ichigo made it obvious you were here, with all of his spirit energy that he has. I can sense him miles away."

"Alright Uryū, what's all this about? And how exactly do you know Orihime's cousin?"

"We've known each other since middle school…" so he told them everything. The Digimon, the Digital World. MaloMyotismon. All of it. Everyone seemed very interested.

"So this Digimon you said you had, Wormmon. A Hollow killed it," Ichigo said. "is there any chance you could get him back?"

"I'm not sure, I have a theory that since Digimon are made of data they can't be absorbed like normal souls so there's a slim chance that he's still inhabiting the Hollow that killed him. I think that if I kill it I can get Wormmon back, but I think it'll be some time before I can do that though."

"Why's that?" Rukia asked. She'd never heard of Digimon and they fascinated her. The thought that creatures who were alive yet didn't have souls like normal humans astonished her. Poromon was a wonder. The Digimon didn't have spirit energy yet it was alive and breathing like any other creature.

"Every year I've searched for that Hollow on the anniversary of Wormmon's death and I've not been able to find him."

"We'll help you if we can, Uryū," Orihime volunteered.

"Yeah, I'd like to meet Wormmon. From the way you talk about him it sounds as if you two were really good friends, besides, I've been itching for some action. There's just been no Hollow activity around here in awhile."

"Wormmon wasn't just my friend, he was the best friend I ever had, and I won't stop until his death is avenged. If I can't get Mayuri for what he did to my grandfather, I can and will avenge Wormmon."

"I know that the moment you say that my Soul Pager will go off telling me there's a Hollow in the area."

Sure enough, as soon as the words left her mouth, her Soul Pager began beeping.

"We've got a Hollow alert," she informed them. They all nodded.

"I'm going with you," Yolei said.

Uryū turned to her. "No," he said flatly. "There's no way I'm letting you go into that kind of danger. We have the ability to battle Hollows. You don't and I know from personal experience that not even your Digimon can protect you. I've lost Wormmon, not once but _twice_. I don't want that to happen to you."

" I know, but one of the reasons I'm not surprised at what you've told me about this Soul Society and Soul Reapers is because I think I've seen one."

"What?" Ichigo stared at her. "Well I do have a way to prove it."

He removed his Substitute Soul Reaper badge from his pocket and slammed it against his chest. His body slumped over on the ground as he stepped out in his Soul Reaper shihaksho.

"Yes, I have seen Soul Reapers before, there was a man I saw dressed in an outfit and he had short spiky white hair and carried a sword, although it was a lot smaller than that."

"That's Toshiro Hitsugaiya Captain of Squad Ten," Ichigo said.

"We have to go now," Rukia said. "It won't be long before the Hollow starts devouring souls."

"All the same, I'm coming with you," Yolei said. "And no one's going to stop me from going, not even Uryū."

"We have to let her come, she'll haunt me to my grave if I don't let her. She never cares about the risks, she does what she has to do."

Ichigo gave her a hard look. "All right then, but don't say we didn't warn you. What you're getting into isn't kids stuff."

"I figured that much. But I'll help you if I can."

* * *

_So exit the fall and now it's over  
you're letting it fall before your heart  
so exit the fall and now it's over  
you're letting it fall before your heart_


End file.
